Over 50 organizations from around the world are urging brands, governments, and employers to ensure the safety of workers employed in garment factories in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Unions representing Sri Lankan and Bangladeshi workers and international labor advocates have urged factory managers, national governments, and international apparel brands to:

Include garment industry in lockdowns to protect citizens from COVID-19 and prevent garment production under the pretext of continuing essential services; expand vaccination and testing of garment workers; implement the ILO Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) protection standards and Worker Rights Consortium guidelines for effective infection control in garment factories, with special attention to personal protective equipment (PPE), physical distancing, right of removal from danger and worker participation mechanisms, and adaptation of transport systems; ensure workers continue to receive their full wage in line with the demands of the Pay Your Workers campaign and allow workers to voluntarily refuse unsafe work and do not exclude those who stop working due to COVID-19 risks from unemployment, severance, or other economic rights and benefits during the crisis or penalize them with loss of contracts or work when the crisis subsides.

Gap launched Athleta brand in Canada, its first move outside the United States. Athleta will initially be available in Canada as an online-only brand. It will later open two stores at Park Royal Shopping Centre in West Vancouver in September, and Yorkdale Mall in Toronto in November. In the US, Athleta has about 200 stores, while its online purchases account for more than half of the brand’s sales.

As per the NPD Group, athleisure brands remained strong as the COVID-19 pandemic cratered apparel sales in Canada. With many people urged to stay at home, demand for comfortable clothes surged in the country. In the 12 months up to June of this year, women’s apparel sales fell by 12 per cent compared to the pre-pandemic period ended in June, 2019. Meanwhile, athleisure sales grew by 23 per cent.

Big brands also forayed into the activewear space in Canada. Earlier this month, denim maker Levi’s announced plans to buy brand Beyond Yoga, citing the need to diversify its business. Owner of footwear brands Saucony, Mernell and Keds, Wolverine Worldwide Incalso announced plans to buy activewear brand Sweaty Betty for $410-million.

Last week, Gap raised its sales and profit forecasts for this year, as its second-quarter earnings beat estimates, driven by increasing sales at Old Navy and Athleta – the two brands on which the retailer is now focusing as part of a wider turnaround plan. San Francisco-based Gap is betting on expanding Athleta, with a goal of reaching $2-billion in net sales by 2023. It also aims to increase sales at its most profitable brand, Old Navy, to $10-billion by 2023, and to close about 30 per cent of its underperforming Gap and Banana Republic store.

Largest exporter of garments in India, Gokuldas Exports plans to set up a cost-efficient manufacturing unit at Acharpura Industrial Area, near Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh. As per a Myiris report, the company has added a new wholly owned subsidiary company known as ‘Gokaldasexports Acharpura to manage the business in an efficient manner and be in a better position to service international customers.

Gokaldas Exports is the largest exporter of garments in India. The company manufactures blazers and pants (formal and casuals), shorts, shirts, blouses, denim wear, swim wear, active and sportswear. Established in 1979, the company has evolved into a one-stop solution for all leading apparels brands. It is India’s largest manufacturer and exporter of apparels and has 20 production units across the world. The company has an annual turnover of over $200 million.

Italian company Officina+30 will present its Better Seasons collection and most recent advancements and collaborations at Bluezone’s Keyhouse area at Munich Fabric Start.

The new collection perfectly embodies the company’s pillars of Trustainable approach – innovation, sustainable practices, clean information, transparency and social responsibility –, delivering a vibrant selection of bold, colorful and conscious solutions for the textile industry. These explore better ways to produce and use less through cutting edge technologies, specifically developed to reduce the use of energy and hazardous chemicals while increasing waste recycling and water conservation. Among these, Aqualess Mission and Recycrom™ allow for astounding, low impact results that preserve the authenticity and the hand-feel of each garment.

Featuring three cutting-edge laundry products for one innovative process, Aqualess Mission combines the application of Remover BC, a laser booster, Aqualess Aged, a waterless compound to give denim abrasion effects, and Ozone Powder, an advanced product to give garments a bleached yet eco-friendly treatment in a dry application, for a worn and distressed look. Compatible with conventional washing and treatment machinery, it allows for water consumption savings up to 75%. Transforming textile waste into colored powder dyestuffs, Recycrom™ provides a full range of solutions obtained through a cutting-edge upcycling production process that involves textile fibers from used clothing and manufacturing waste for dyeing and printing applications.

Developed in compliance with rigorous safety and quality standards, Better Seasons collection aims to push forward Officina+39’s commitment to the planet, its people and its resources. Having recently become part of Bluesign’s prestigious network of chemical excellences, the company works to ensure the highest quality standards, the most responsible use of resources and the lowest environmental impact.

Demand for Oeko -Tex®’s Made in Green Certificate increased for second consecutive year in 2020-21 as the association issued more than 31,000 certificates and labels an increase of 31 per cent compared to 2019/2020. Oeko -Tex® also moved forward with its new ‘Water and Carbon Footprint Tool’. For nearly three decades, the association has stood for transparency along the textile and leather production chains, consumer protection and the guarantee of greater safety and confidence for all those involved.

The number of labels and certificates issued by the association rose from 24,205 to 31,696 between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021. During year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, Oeko-Tex® made every effort to continue with certification and avoid supply chain interruptions. The association supported the industry and global fight against COVID-19 with waivers of over 370 Standard 100 by Oeko Tex® certification fees on mouth and nose masks. The organization implemented guidelines for virtual audits to ensure a smooth and consistent certification process.

In addition, over 620,000 workers benefit from employment in safe and socially responsible working conditions with environmentally friendly processes verified by STeP by Oeko-Tex® certification. Together with sustainability consulting group Quantis, the Association has developed the Oeko-Tex® Carbon & Water Footprint Tool to help the fashion industry reduce its CO2 emissions and water consumption. In 2021 the methodology was successfully certified by a neutral third party and implemented.

For the last few years, India has been losing its edge in the global textile and clothing exports to countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh. COVID-19 has further added to its worries with exports expected to fall around 15 per cent to $28.4 billion in 2020-21. A recent report by Wazir Advisors had predicted, India’s domestic textile and apparel market is expected to fall to $75 billion in 2020-21 from $106 billion in 2019-20. Domestic apparel market shrunk 22 per cent from $1,635 billion in 2019 to $1,280 billion in 2020. The market is expected to reach pre-COVID levels to $2,007 billion only by 2025.

Scheme to diversify India’s export basket

To restrict the fall in textile and clothing exports, Union Textile Ministry has launched the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The scheme is awaiting approval from the Union cabinet. It has sought Rs 10,680-crore funds from the government for the revival of the textile and apparel sector. The scheme emphasizes on 40 product categories under Man Made Fibre (MMF) and 10 under technical textiles categories. It proposes incentives for both greenfield and brownfield companies. The aim is to diversify India's export products basket.

One of the highlights of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Yojana’ the PLI scheme allocates Rs 10,680 crore for textile and clothing sector. The scheme will be executed through the Focus Product Incentive Scheme (FPIS) and provide 3 to 15 per cent incentives on companies’ stipulated incremental turnover for five years. These incentives will be granted after a gestation period of one year for brownfield investment and two years for greenfield investment

Tapping cheap Indian labor

The PLI scheme also aims to explore the opportunity presented by China’s rising labor costs and tap India's large workforce and reasonably priced labor. The benefits of the scheme are likely to be extended to the fiber and filaments industry as well. The government also plans to introduce new schemes to sustain the sector’s revival and enhance India’s participation in global manufacturing value chains.

As per the Sri Lanka Apparel Exporters Association, $250 million of $500 million received for local apparel exports are lost as the country imports all the necessary material like thread, dyes and cloth.

Keeping in mind the economic crisis faced by the nation, the Sri Lankan government has declared the apparel industry as an essential service and allowed factories to remain open during the quarantine curfew.

The Joint Apparel Association Forum issuing a press release stated that all measures are been taken to ensure a safe and secure workplace for their employees. However, Anton Marx of the Free Trade Zones and Public Service Union, alleged that the spread of COVID-19 among the garment factory workers is high.

Marx further stated no government has yet attempted to create safe boarding places for apparel sector workers and that the daily wage of a garment factory worker is often less than Rs. 1,000.

The Bangladesh commerce ministry plans to increase the maximum wastage rate in producing apparel products from raw materials from 16 per cent to 28 per cent. As per a Business Standard report, this will allow readymade garment exporters to import more yarn and fabrics.

As per the decision, from now the maximum wastage rates will be 25 per cent for basic readymade garment items, 28 per cent for specialized items and 3% for sweaters and socks.

Woven fabric exporters labeled the decision as "better than nothing", but knitwear exporters have rejected it as they think the wastage rate should be at least 35 per cent.

According to stakeholders, if the production wastage rate of an export-oriented apparel manufacturer – who enjoys duty-free facility for raw material imports – is less than the prescribed rate, they sell the excess raw materials in the open market. This eventually damages the business of local companies that produce raw material.

On the other hand, if the actual wastage rate is higher than the rate set by the government, the authorities impose duty, supplementary duty and VAT on the extra wastages.

The international ban on Xinjiang Cotton has led to huge losses among Noida apparel makers over the past seven months. The US and a few other countries have banned import of cotton from the Xinjiang region of China following reports of human rights violations against Uighur Muslims, who are mostly employed in cotton production. As a result, Chinese manufacturers have reduced production in their country and booked large amounts of cotton yarn from India and other parts of Southeast Asia.

With most Indian cotton now being exported to China, prices of yarn and thread have shot up for domestic traders. Yarn prices in Noida increased 70 to 80 per cent, leading to an increased cost of production. With neighboring countries like Bangladesh exporting garments at cheaper rates, losses have mounted more, says Lalit Thukral, President, Noida Apparel Export Cluster (NAEC). The government decision to levy an additional 10 per cent import duty on cotton has added to exporters’ woes, adds Neeraj Prakash, Managing Director, Strange Exports.

Apparel makers say increasing yarn export could also lead to job losses since it is not a labor-intensive industry. In the past three years, apparel export industry has gone down from $18 billion to $12.5 billion, adds Thukral.

Clothing companies in Vietnam are finding it difficult to meet customer demands amid strict lockdowns in the country as COVID-19 continues to spread. As per an Axios report, Vietnam manufactures garments for many American clothing brands. Increasing virus spread is making it difficult to get the required stock to keep up with demand for clothes now that restrictions have been lifted in the US.

Manufacturer’s biggest concerns currently is getting the inventory, says Richard Hayne, CEO, Urban Outfitters in a Yahoo report. Some of the biggest brands in the US get most of their goods from Vietnam, according to data from Bank of America. Gap and Lululemon Athletica each source about a third of their production from Vietnam. Nike sources 51 per cent of its footwear and 30 per cent of its apparel from the country, the report by Axios.